Doxades
'''Overview''' Doxades (Docks-uh-deez) is the religion of Anadacia, one of the most influential and monetarily powerful nations in Kanatral. Doxades is what the Church of Heos terms a Devan (Dee-van) religion, the worship of many gods. In this way, Doxades falls under a similar line to Taiyuden or Hallarfira and less so Shurandi in that the gods Doxades follows are more on themes than concepts or ideals. The gods of Doxades, however, tend to take on a more 'mortal' bend of mind and to suffer from many of the same flaws a mortals do. Due to this, followers of Doxades may find themselves at odds with other faiths - even other Devan faiths. Despite this or perhaps because of it, large halls with fantastic temples and halls filled with art and decoration the likes of which few in the world can match, reside in Anadacia where the faithful offer prayers and sacrifice. '''Flawed Examples''' Perhaps one of the most stand out factors of Doxades compared to religions such the Church of Heos or Taiyuden is the flawed nature of their deities. All of the Deva in Doxades are presented as being surprisingly human, complete with personality flaws and the like. Despite this, they are still presented as beings of incredible power and often times are seen to miss-use this power in some form of anger, tantrum, or whim. To some outsiders, this tends to explain to them the voracious nature of politics and ambitious dealings in Anadacia. Others assume it is that it makes them feel more attuned to their deities divine will - that if they are more like mortals that one can more easily associate with their methods and existence. Regardless, while it it hardly true that Doxades is the only Devan faith with gods possessing mortal flaws, it is true that they are perhaps the most so. In the eyes of the Church of Heos, some sects of the religion seem to wholly embrace depravity. '''The Elements and then Some''' The Deva associated with the Anadacian pantheon are sorted into multiple themes, often falling into themes either elemental or ideal in their nature. Examples would be Weather or Wisdom. In some cases, the ideals are more abstract forces such as War or Death. For this reason, the powers of the oracles and priests of this faith appear more arcane than divine in their nature and manifestation more often than not. In some cases this is may actually be the case as practitioners of the faith sometimes are not actually 'priests' in the same way others would identify the idea. It is also one of the faiths that delves into the notions of divination - the ability to scry future events. In this, the faith appears to have more in common with Hallarfira or Wyrdalan than with other more spiritual religions such as Taiyuden or Shurandi. This varied scope of deified beings sorts itself towards many potential patrons with worshipers calling upon any given deity that fits the given moment of need or desire. '''They Walk Among Us''' One of the bigger distinguishing features of Doxades is the permeation of tales that speak of the Deva adopting human forms and mingling with the mortals. The validation of these is difficult to ascertain at best as in many cases they are often tied conveniently to rather exceptional people or circumstances. None-the-less, Anadacian culture and religion both insist upon the idea that the Deva they worship still walk among them even to this day, pressing their own agenda. While not the only religion to support this idea, Anadacia's proximity to every nation (except for Glaskog) and the fact that they are generally well respected in terms of development, wealth, and power lends many outsiders to be willing to believe such claims to at least some extent. The fact that in ages past the Deva were able to mingle freely only lends credence to this claim for many. Regardless, Doxades tales describe their Deva as beings at once both beyond the ken of men and singularly and completely understandable. The fact that the Velare greatly limits the Deva's abilities to actively descend upon the world does not seem to factor into Doxades beliefs and it is not uncommon to hear a person claim they met a particular Deva in the guise of a mortal. While some may find this plausible, others find it to be completely impossible or so outlandish as to be laughable. Naturally, the fact that Anadacia remains one of the strongest and more influential powers in Kanatral, limits this feeling from total expression.